To implement a touch control device capable of being manipulated by a touch of a user, resistive, capacitive, surface acoustic wave, transmitter methods, etc., are used.
A touch control device using the capacitive method includes a type that forms crossing electrode patterns and detects an input position by sensing a change in capacitance between the electrodes when an input means, such as a finger comes into contact with the touch control device. There is another type that applies the same electric potential of a phase to both terminals of a transparent conductive film and detects an input position by sensing a small current that flows when a capacitance is formed by an input means, such as a finger coming into contact with or approaching the touch control device.
In general, the touch control device has a 2-panel layered structure in which a first panel including a number of first metal patterns that electrically connect first sensing patterns arranged in the first direction, e.g., in the x-axis direction, to a sensor circuit for calculating positions of the first sensing patterns on a first substrate, and a second panel including a number of second metal patterns that electrically connect second sensing patterns arranged in the second direction, e.g., in the y-axis direction, to a sensor circuit for calculating the positions of the second sensing patterns are stuck together by an adhesive.
Furthermore, a capacitive touch panel with a single 2-layered structure been disclosed.
As a method for manufacturing the touch control device, a method to use indium tin oxide (ITO), which is the transparent electrode, a method to use metal mesh, a method to use a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB), or the like, to be applied to the touch panel is used.
However, the above methods require multiple processing steps, making it complicated and expensive. Particularly, the ITO-based manufacturing process uses rare-earth elements, and thus has a problem of increased product costs due to the valuable materials.
In addition, the existing processes use an adhesion method, which makes the product vulnerable to external vibration, shocks, or high heat. Accordingly, the processes decrease product durability and are hard to be applied to the devices exposed to vibration and high temperature.